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  1. Medieval Relic List Includes Santa’s Bone and Christ’s Crib

    A medieval document has revealed connections between how we celebrate Christmas today and an English monastery. The document is a list of relics given to Battle Abbey, which was bestowed on by two English monarchs, among others. Perhaps the most intriguing item in the inventory was St Nicholas’ aka Santa’s bone.

    Ed Whelan - 19/12/2019 - 18:06

  2. Deadly Poison Discovered on Medieval Book Covers Could Have Killed

    Some may remember the deadly book of Aristotle that plays a vital part in the plot of Umberto Eco’s 1980 novel The Name of the Rose. Poisoned by a mad Benedictine monk, the book wreaks havoc in a 14th-century Italian monastery, killing all readers who happen to lick their fingers when turning the toxic pages. Could something like this happen in reality? Poisoning by books?

    ancient-origins - 01/07/2018 - 14:04

  3. Medieval Men With ‘Unsuitable Seed’ Prescribed Ground Up Pig Testicals

    A recent study of medical and religious texts suggests that men were diagnosed with infertility as far back as Medieval times, and indeed may be held responsible for the inability to have children. Treatment regimes, at times bizarre and unpalatable, included eating ground up pig testicles.

    Theodoros Karasavvas - 31/07/2017 - 01:43

  4. Why Archaeology Is So Much More Than Just Digging

    By Richard Tuffin and Martin GIbbs /The Conversation

    It is our experience that most people think archaeology mainly means digging in the dirt. 

    ancient-origins - 04/01/2019 - 01:51

  5. Brazen Bull: Gruesome Ancient Greek Torture Device Turned Screams into ‘Music’

    The Brazen Bull (known also as the ‘Bull of Phalaris’, the ‘Bronze Bull’ or the ‘Sicilian Bull’) was a type of ancient torture and execution device from ancient Greece. The story of the Brazen Bull is connected with Phalaris, the tyrant of Acragas (known today as Agrigento, on the southern coast of Sicily), and Perillos (sometimes spelt as Perilaüs), an Attic bronze-worker. The Brazen Bull was an extremely cruel instrument, and its story is a renowned example of an invention that caused the death of its inventor.

    dhwty - 26/04/2017 - 18:52

  6. The Forgotten Cleopatra: Searching for Cleopatra the Alchemist and Her Golden Secret

    Cleopatra was one of four female alchemists who worked on producing the famous Philosopher's stone. She lived during the last remarkable period in Alexandria’s history, when it was still a city of open-minded scientists. Some of the most precious of her discoveries are included in her Chrysopoeia, which may even hold the key for a transmutation into gold.

    Natalia Klimczak - 21/02/2017 - 18:50

  7. 8 Forbidden Books That Still Rewrote History

    We hear a lot about censorship in the news today but it’s nothing new. In fact, the word comes from the Latin word censeo, which means to assess. Almost as soon as the printing press was introduced to the West in 1450, those in power began banning books that challenged the status quo or their grip on power. But the banning of books is a tale as old as time and has been around in some form or another for thousands of years. Books and scrolls that weren’t outright banned were often censored into oblivion or simply burnt.

    Robbie Mitchell - 08/10/2023 - 14:51

  8. The Golden Horde and the Mongol Mission to Conquer Europe

    Before Mongol emperor Genghis Khan died in 1227 AD, he divided his vast empire into four khanates (fiefdoms) among three sons and a grandson. The westernmost of these regions was ruled by the Golden Horde, first headed by Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu Khan. Genghis’ son Jochi was to have ruled the huge territory,  but he died six months before Genghis could bestow the vast area on him. So it went to Batu, Jochi’s son.

    Mark Miller - 19/10/2018 - 14:02

  9. A History Of Egyptian Antiquities: Assessing Pivotal Highs And Lows Down The Centuries

    Following the culmination of the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882, the British used their experiences in colonizing the Indian subcontinent to tackle the geo-political scenario in Egypt, opening the country to Western influences.

    anand balaji - 13/12/2021 - 21:09

  10. ‘Blank’ Dead Sea Scroll Fragments Reveal Hidden Message

    A team of experts have made an important discovery about some Dead Sea Scroll fragments in the United Kingdom. They have found letters on four fragments that were believed to be ‘blanks’. This finding could help researchers to revisit other fragments of the texts and help them to better understand the enigmatic Dead Sea Scrolls and to fight against forgeries.

    Ed Whelan - 19/05/2020 - 22:45

  11. Massive Medieval Tannery Identified at Spectacular Fountains Abbey

    The original purpose of a mysterious patch of land beside England’s Fountains Abbey has finally been deciphered. Experts have concluded that it’s the largest and best-preserved tannery ever discovered at a medieval abbey in Britain.

    ashley cowie - 26/10/2021 - 22:55

  12. The Mystery of St. Paul’s Lost Bible: Is Someone Hiding Something!

    The noise that woke the neighbors in the twilight was the sound of trucks carrying the earth from the excavations in that small house in the neighborhood. What were they looking for in that little slum-like house? How many meters deep had they descended, since so much earth had come out of such a small place? Were they after a clue? Why was this excavation guarded by armed guards, and no one but a few authorized people could enter? What was the mystery of this excavation that lasted a year?

    Refik - 27/08/2021 - 18:37

  13. Ancient Advanced Technology Reveals Itself in Egyptian Papyrus Ink

    A new study shows ink on 2,000-year-old Egyptian papyri fragments contains copper. This means the assumption that carbon was the only basis for ink to write on ancient papyri is now a thing of the past. The information will help researchers trying to match fragments of ancient texts and in the conservation of papyri writings.

    ancient-origins - 11/11/2017 - 22:50

  14. Ancient Necropolis Found Hidden in 17th Century Croatian Palace Garden

    An ancient necropolis dating to the 4th and 5th centuries AD has been discovered at a 17th-century palace on the idyllic Croatian island of Hvar. This Hvar necropolis is being called “the most important ever” in the island’s thousands of years of inhabitation. 

    ashley cowie - 20/06/2021 - 18:41

  15. Thousands of years of visual culture made public

    The Wellcome Trust Library, one of the world’s leading libraries on the human condition, has just released more than 100,000 images demonstrating thousands of years of culture and tradition throughout the world.

    aprilholloway - 24/01/2014 - 00:40

  16. Mayan Writings

    First off let me thank the powers that be for adding this forum. I think it would be a good idea to create a thread for each ancient civilization and their writings. That way we are not searching through a 50 page thread for a particular civilization. Lets start with this one:

    Dresden Codex

    MAYA HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING
    The Ancient Maya Codices

    Ancient Times - 03/10/2014 - 22:02

  17. The Evolution of Sea Monsters on Medieval Maps

    A recently published book published by the British Library charts the evolution of iconic sea serpents, mermaids and other mythical creatures found on world maps from the 10th century through to medieval and Renaissance times.  Despite their wild appearance, most of the creatures were based on true encounters with sea animals, shedding light on how mythology and folklore can evolve from real events.

    aprilholloway - 07/09/2013 - 00:21

  18. Chet Van Duzer

    Chet Van Duzer has published extensively on historical geography and the history of cartography in journals such as Imago Mundi, Terrae Incognitae and Word & Image. He is also the author of Johann Schöner’s Globe of 1515: Transcription and Study, the first detailed analysis of one of the earliest surviving terrestrial globes that includes the New World; and (with John Hessler) Seeing the World Anew: The Radical Vision of Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 & 1516 World Maps.

    ancient-origins - 08/02/2013 - 12:02

  19. Heracles and the Mares of Diomedes: Greek Hero VS Man-Eating Beasts

    By now, you’re probably aware that the Greek hero Heracles (a.k.a. Hercules) had to complete twelve arduous labors as retribution for killing his wife and kids in a divinely-induced rage. The eighth of these involved tackling some man-eating horses that wanted to take a bite out of pretty much everyone.

    Carly Silver - 28/04/2017 - 14:06

  20. Inscription on Coffin Discovered to be Oldest Egyptian Soul Map

    A 4000-year-old ancient Egyptian text illustrates the oldest map of the underworld in existence.

    In 2012 archaeologists opened a burial shaft in the Middle Egyptian necropolis of Dayr al-Barsha and one of the coffins was found to be inscribed with text from ‘The Book of Two Ways,’ an illustrated guide to the afterlife.

    ashley cowie - 09/10/2019 - 14:00

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